Yoga In My Backyard

Remember when we were in grade school and one of the first things you had to write about in September was “What I Did on My Summer Vacation”? If I were to do that now, it would be a full essay…so many things! From a glamorous Miami condo to a log home in the Laurentians to Big Rideau boating to milestone birthday bash in a party bus to Lake Huron sunsets to backyard green chair chilling…and the list continues. Within all the DOING there is BEING – in the moment, just taking it all in.

What a wonderful season to practice more mindfulness! Looking and really SEEING…FEELING…EXPERIENCING. From the big picture to the more subtle, there are so many aspects to each moment that we can miss in the blink of an eye if we’re not paying attention. From the beauty of a sunset to a tiny spider hanging on to a thread in the wind, there are amazing moments of connection right in front of us at all times.

Connection is not just for those times of beauty, peace, joy. Mindfulness practice encourages us to be equally present for those not-so-nice moments; ones that might be filled with frustration, anger, impatience, doubt, regret. Like waiting in an airport line-up, or being cooped up in the car for too long, or eating too much, or having a crappy night’s sleep. While these are the less pleasant realities of summer vacation travel, they are nevertheless part of the whole experience of BEING. And like anything, they are transient and impermanent and all but forgotten (if we can let them go and not re-hash them over and over) as soon as the next pleasant moment arrives. So in answer to the question “What did you do on your summer vacation?”, I would say I SAW, I FELT, I ROSE UP, I FELL DOWN, I TOOK A BREATH, I LAUGHED, I CRIED, I SWORE, I LIVED…and then I came home to my comfy green chairs and CHILLED…What did YOU do on your summer va-cay?